


A Draught of Living Death

by betagyre



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Bittersweet, F/M, Romance, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-11
Updated: 2015-09-11
Packaged: 2018-04-20 07:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4777934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betagyre/pseuds/betagyre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Voldemort had a chance to attack James Potter early. Newly widowed, grieving, lonely, and with an infant son to raise, Lily finally forgave her old childhood friend Severus and secretly married him.  Some outcomes changed as a result of the marriage. Others did not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Draught of Living Death

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bainsidhe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bainsidhe/gifts).



Severus Snape could hardly believe what he was seeing. He stared at the glowing silver doe, and he could have sworn that the beautiful Patronus _smiled_ at him. It was a sad, mild smile, but it was indisputably there. And there was only one person who could have _sent_ Severus a Patronus that took this form.

The doe raised its head and looked him in the eye. _“Severus, I would like to see you again,”_ it spoke in the musical tones of a voice Severus knew well— _very_ well. His heart seemed to twist in his chest. He nearly dropped the flask that he held. It was Polyjuice; the old man had cooked up a scheme of having someone impersonate a suspected victim of Imperius to determine who was controlling the poor sod. Severus hoped that Dumbledore’s chosen “someone” for the mission wouldn’t be him.

He had more important things on his mind now, anyway. He had to send a reply to Lily’s message.

* * *

It wasn’t entirely surprising, Severus reflected after his—yes— _date_ with Lily. After the Dark Lord had killed Potter two months ago, he should have foreseen that she would be lonely. Her only other adult companions would have been Black, Pettigrew, and the werewolf. Not exactly desirable company. Black was an arse, Lupin turned into a murderous beast each month, and Pettigrew was a complete sycophantic nonentity. Severus should not have been entirely shocked, but he supposed he had given up all hope of ever being forgiven for his youthful stupidity.

Their conversation had been awkward at first. Neither of them particularly wanted to broach the subject of the insult— _Mudblood—_ or the nature of Severus’s current activities. He had never stopped feeling guilty for insulting her, but by now, she had realized it was very immature to refuse to forgive him for so many years over such a thing, said under the circumstances that it was. She was embarrassed and sorry too. But finally, at last, it was brought out into the open, and then put behind them for good. It was a wonderful feeling.

He was unsure _what_ he thought of the fact that she knew already that he was a spy for the Order of the Phoenix now. Dumbledore had promised him never to tell anyone, but Lily had divulged that he _had_ told _her_ when she came to him. That the old man would break faith over such a thing was unsettling, but he supposed that he had made the demand when Lily was married to Potter and he had no expectations of ever resuming so much as a friendship with her again. He was not sure he would have demanded it if Lily had already been a widow at the time, so he supposed he couldn’t hold it against Dumbledore _too_ much.

As a young woman, she was even more beautiful than he remembered from school. Recent motherhood had also been kind to her, giving her a warm glow and very attractive shape. Her son, Harry, clearly resembled James Potter more than his mother, but Severus found that he could not hold the child’s looks—or father—against him. Being a child of Lily Evans made up for those deficiencies. The baby looked as if he might have his mother’s eyes, too.

* * *

“Severus, I must confess my _grave_ reservations about your pursuing this relationship,” Dumbledore said. “It could compromise everything. If Voldemort were to find out that you are seeing Lily Potter—”

Severus glared contemptuously at his benefactor. “It would be no worse than if the Dark Lord learned of my activities as a _spy,_ would it? Are you implying that you do not trust my Occlumency skills after all?”

Dumbledore looked sad and weary. “It is not about your Occlumency skills, Severus,” he said quietly. “I am referring to the relationship becoming _public_ knowledge.”

“We don’t see each other in public,” Severus said. “She’s in _hiding,_ Dumbledore, thanks to me and that accursed prophecy. Do you imagine we go to Fortescue’s for ice cream?” he sneered. “Maybe stopping at the Leaky Cauldron for a nightcap? We see each other in her home. Nobody else knows except you.”

“And Mr. Black.”

Severus scowled. “She told _him?”_

“James trusted Sirius Black with his life, and over the years, he became a close friend of Lily as well. I am not happy that she told him either, but she did.”

“I’m sure that went over well.”

At last a familiar twinkle gleamed in Dumbledore’s eyes, and a faint smile formed on his lips. “You should ask her about _that,”_ he said. “I was not informed of how he took it.”

“I thought you wanted me to break it off with her, _not_ talk to her further.”

“Severus, I am more aware than you could guess of how futile it usually is for an outsider to tell someone to disregard his heart and listen to his head instead. All I can say is, _be careful._ This _must_ be kept private.”

* * *

Severus felt that he was having difficulty believing a lot of things these days, but he truly could scarcely believe that this day had come. At sixteen he had assumed it never _would_ come… but then, he reflected, sixteen-year-olds were not the best judges of anything. Their own history proved that much. Still, he was amazed that he had worked up the courage to even _ask_ her, let alone that she would accept him. Her first husband had not been dead for that long.

Courage, the quintessential Gryffindor quality. As an immature schoolboy caught up in House loyalty, he had disdained it as the driving trait of foolhardy idiots and thuggish bullies. What they manifested was not true courage, Severus now realized. Courage was a dignified, honorable, mature thing.

* * *

The wedding of Lily Evans Potter and Severus Snape was an extremely quiet event. They held it outdoors on a heavily warded country property owned by the Order of the Phoenix. As it was almost September, it was still warm, but the early hints of fall were starting to appear—the leaves of a tree beginning to show patches of yellow, the apples red and full and almost ready to harvest, a faintly smoky dryness to the air. Albus Dumbledore officiated the event, and the only guests were an extremely sour-looking Sirius Black and a green-eyed infant boy who somehow understood and followed the instructions to be quiet. Severus had decided that Harry—his _stepson—_ was quite intelligent. He was good on a toy broom, too, like his _father_ … but it could be worse, Severus reflected with philosophy. Children who were hopeless on brooms tended to be picked on at Hogwarts, even in Ravenclaw. It was good that Harry wouldn’t have that happen to him, from the looks of it.

Lily, of course, did not wear a white dress this time, but Severus thought that her emerald-green dress robes complemented her fiery hair and gleaming green eyes even better than bridal white would have—and it was not because he was partial to Slytherin colors.

After Dumbledore pronounced them husband and wife, he turned to his bride, smiling, for the kiss. He used to never think _that_ would happen either—though of course, by this time, it was hardly the _first_ time it had happened.

They broke apart, still smiling, and regarded each other. Severus was so pleased to have made her happy after all that she had suffered. He was there for her when she needed him. It was the highest thing that a person could do for one he loved.

He met her sparkling green eyes, and suddenly his blood ran cold. He couldn’t explain it—it couldn’t be a _premonition;_ he was always rubbish at Divination—but whatever it was, he had the sudden, terrible fear that he would not have her for very long.

_Rubbish,_ he told himself at once. It was probably just the fall atmosphere, and the accompanying implications of death, getting into his head, combined with the general state of fear that most of the Wizarding world—and the Order of the Phoenix especially—now lived in. She and Harry were already at the top of the Dark Lord’s most wanted dead list, thanks to him. At least he was now in the best possible position to _protect_ them from that maniac. They were his _family_ now. His _family._

He resolved not to let the moment trouble him further on this day.

* * *

Severus had never considered himself a cuddly sort of person. Rather the opposite, in fact. But this was _Lily,_ and it was so nice to hold her as she slept. She was the exception to his “I don’t cuddle” rule.

Every moment was valuable, he knew. He had to limit his time here and plan his visits carefully. He had to be at Spinner’s End when school was not in session, since there would be unexpected visits sometimes from Death Eaters. Even now, he had to get back to the school in a few hours. Dumbledore had allowed him to sleep at home for now, but he knew that this was not going to be a normal domestic situation until the Dark Lord was dead. Then, he could tender his resignation to the old man and do what he really wanted to do: join the Research department of St. Mungo’s and study new techniques for countering Dark spells and potions. No more dunderheads who were one slip away from melting their cauldrons. He wouldn’t be a Healer, so he wouldn’t even have to deal with dimwit patients. He would have a normal job, and she would be free as well to do what she liked with her life. She was so talented, she could do a lot of things. They would live their lives, and neither of them would have to worry about hiding.

* * *

Harry really was a wonderful boy. Someday—once the war was over and the Dark Lord defeated—Severus and Lily had decided that he should have a sibling or two. It was not a good time for that _now,_ of course. That abominable prophecy still loomed like the proverbial elephant. Lily’s life was in danger as long as the Dark Lord lived. It was a horrible thing for them to have to admit, but it was true. She, Gryffindor that she was, accepted the danger with much more resignation than he did, but he reluctantly had to agree with her about waiting. It would be _wrong_ to endanger the life of an unborn child along with hers.

* * *

“You must go under the Fidelius Charm _now.”_

Lily looked up at Severus, green eyes wide with fear. The uncomfortable thought briefly passed through his mind that her brave face the past month and a half had been a façade of some sort. Perhaps she had not _accepted_ danger so much as put it out of her mind, but now she had to face it head on, just as he did.

“The Dark Lord is preparing to hunt you down,” he continued urgently. “He thinks he has to kill Harry while he is still a baby and unable to defend himself.”

She did not remind him that he had asked the Dark Lord to spare her life. Unlike Dumbledore, she did not feel any inclination to make statements that put him in a no-win answer situation and simultaneously passive-aggressively blamed him. She _knew_ that the promises of Lord Voldemort were as worthless as leprechaun gold.

“I am, of course, willing to be your Secret-Keeper—”

“No, Severus.”

He stopped talking and regarded her with a raised eyebrow. “Why not? You know I can look the Dark Lord in the eye and lie to him. And no one but Black and Dumbledore knows that we’re married. There are hardly even any signs that I _live_ here, Lily. I still have that old house, and that’s where the Death Eaters think I live. No one knows about us. I would not be an obvious choice for him to consider.”

“Severus, it isn’t that. I just—hate endangering you even further. I _know_ you’re a great Occlumens… but suppose I went under Fidelius and he took it into his head that you might know where I was, and you _broke?_ I just… I can’t do that to you. If you are _not_ the Secret-Keeper, you could even _tell_ him that you had been given the Secret but were not the Keeper yourself. That would protect you from him. He would know he couldn’t torture the information out of you.”

He grimaced, but he saw her reasoning. If he were the Secret-Keeper, he could never tell that to the Dark Lord. But if he could tell the Dark Lord freely that he was _not_ able to divulge the Secret….

“Dumbledore, then?” he asked her.

She looked down at her lap. “I was thinking of Sirius, actually. No, _don’t_ rage about it—I know you don’t get along with him, but he would _never_ betray us. And he is in hiding himself.”

_“Someone_ in the Order is spying for the Dark Lord. No, I don’t know who. The Dark Lord keeps his Death Eaters from knowing too much about what the others are doing. But you know it and I know it.”

Lily scowled at him. “It isn’t Sirius. He was James’s best friend, Severus, Harry’s godfather, and he may not _like_ you, but he would never turn _anyone_ over to Voldemort.”

Severus sneered.

Lily scowled deeper and tried another tactic. “He _knows_ we’re married. He was at the wedding. If he were the spy, he would have _told_ that information to Voldemort—if for no other reason than to get _you_ killed.”

Severus grimaced again, not wanting to admit that her logic was impeccable, but having little choice. “Fine, but I still think this is a really bad idea,” he spat out. “Black has no control. The Dark Lord would read him like an open book, however good his _heart_ might be. Why not use Dumbledore?”

She bit her lip. “I… don’t like involving him too deeply in my personal business. It’s not that I don’t trust him—at least in terms of being on the right side—but I _don’t_ trust him not to use any personal information he is given for manipulation. He tends to see people as chess pieces.”

Severus really could not argue with that. Gruffly he grabbed his cloak and prepared to Apparate to Hogsmeade. He was technically supposed to be at the school, at that blasted teaching position that the manipulator in question had arranged for him, and he could not linger here too long. “You know how to reach me,” he said. “Have Black write the Secret on a piece of paper and give it to me through a messenger—Dumbledore, I guess. I’ll feel better when it’s done. Please don’t delay.”

He smiled at Harry, kissed her on the cheek, and turned his to her to receive his own. Then he gave them a long look and Disapparated.

* * *

Severus received the note in a private meeting with Dumbledore a week later. He frowned at it. He hadn’t seen too much of Black’s handwriting in school, but he had come across it from time to time, and he really didn’t recall it resembling this.

Oh, well. Perhaps it had changed over time.

_“Incendio,”_ he muttered as he held his wand tip to the note. It burst into flames and immediately burned to ash. _“Evanesco,”_ he said, vanishing the remnants.

* * *

His Dark Mark had vanished, but that was not the main thing on his mind right now. Something was terribly, horribly _wrong._ He was not supposed to be able to tell anyone where Lily and Harry were, but he knew that—in contrast to how things had been the past week, when his lips had been sealed against speaking the address of their home—he had that familiar street number on the tip of his tongue, ready to come out if he said the words.

The rest of the school was at the Halloween feast—all except Dumbledore. He had already dutifully informed Dumbledore that his Dark Mark had vanished, and the old man’s face had become very grave. Surely he too had also recognized that the Secret suddenly _wasn’t._

Severus made a decision. He wasn’t going to wait in the Great Hall like a good boy for Dumbledore to come back and tell him what was going on. This was his _family—_ his wife and stepson. It was _his_ responsibility. He was going to check on them.

With that, he turned, robes billowing in the hallway, and headed for the nearest passage to Hogsmeade.

* * *

Severus had known instantly that something disastrous had happened when he Apparated into the yard and saw the house with the roof caved in and a wall blown out. His heart sank into his chest. The Secret-Keeper—Black—had apparently been caught and had given up the information, from what he could deduce. Clearly the charm was broken. Had the Dark Lord— _no,_ he wouldn’t think it. He would go inside and look.

He heard a baby crying when he moved deeper into the house. That was a good thing. Harry, at least, was alive. Where was Lily, though?

A hand bearing an illuminated wand stepped out from the shadows of what had been the living room. Severus reacted instinctively, sending a stunner at the figure.

The wizard dodged. “Hold your fire!”

It was Black’s voice, but that did not reassure Severus. Black had presumably been captured and tortured for his Secret. That meant this person was an impostor—and a Death Eater. He gripped his wand tighter and fired another hex.

“It’s _me,_ Snape!”

There was profound grief in the voice, which stilled Severus’s hand momentarily, even though he couldn’t make sense out of that. “Prove it,” he said harshly.

The wizard paused. “I met you in a compartment of the Hogwarts Express. James and Lily were there, and we got into an argument over Sorting. Then in fifth year, I set you up to be endangered by a werewolf.”

Snape’s blood boiled. Yes, that information was certainly proof that this really was Sirius Black, but of _all_ the things for the wretched man to mention as evidence of his identity—he had done it on purpose—and furthermore, if he was alive and well but the charm was not in effect, that meant that he _was_ a traitor—

“You married Lily two months ago. Dumbledore, Harry, and I were the only people who knew about it. Snape, please, just let me _talk_ —this isn’t what it looks like—”

He cleared his head. There were more important things at hand. “Talk, then. What are you doing here?” he snarled. “The Fidelius Charm is broken, obviously. What did you _do?”_

Sirius came into the light, and the grief that had been resonant in his words seemed etched into his face. His voice sounded hollow when he spoke. “I wasn’t the Secret-Keeper,” he said in a tone barely above a whisper. “I convinced her to switch—to _Pettigrew.”_ He practically spat out the name. “I thought he was a better choice—less obvious. But _he_ was the spy, Snape. He betrayed her and Harry.”

“What are you saying?” A cold lump formed in Severus’s stomach as he realized for himself what had apparently happened. He had known it as soon as he saw the ruined house, but he had not wanted to face it. _Harry is alive,_ he told himself. The boy was still crying, in fact. _Harry is alive…._

“Lily’s dead, Snape.” Sirius gulped, as if trying to stifle a sob. “Lily’s dead, and Voldemort is just… _gone._ He didn't leave a body. And Harry is alive, but there is a scar on his head.”

Severus was already dashing up the stairs.

* * *

Severus had placed Lily’s body in her bed, rather than allowing it to be left on the dirty, debris-filled floor. Both wizards were somewhat in shock, which probably explained why they had not gotten into a brawl and tried to kill each other. Severus was holding a silent vigil next to his deceased wife’s bed, and Sirius sat in a chair a few feet away holding Harry in his lap.

_It’s still my fault,_ Severus thought miserably. _I may not have been the one to betray the Secret, but I put her in danger in the first place. I failed to protect her. She was my wife, and I failed to keep her safe. I wasn’t there when she needed me._ That the Dark Lord would have simply killed him too, and then proceeded with his prior intentions, occurred to him, but he was so invested in his flagellating grief that he could not take any measure of comfort from it.

At last Dumbledore arrived at the house.  He had certainly taken his precious time to get here, Severus thought as he got up. He really hoped the old man hadn’t involved the Ministry already without even having all the information. Bartemius Crouch was a hard-nosed politician who claimed to support law and order but was more than happy to throw people into Azkaban with slim evidence as long as it made the Ministry look good. If Dumbledore had implicated Black already…. Severus didn’t _like_ Black, but it was wrong for an innocent man to go to that place while the actual betrayer of Lily walked free. And there was still Harry to consider.

Dumbledore’s century-old face was grave as he walked into the damaged house. “Severus,” he said quietly, “I know that whatever you found here must have been distressing, but it is very important for you to tell me—”

“Lily is dead,” Severus said tonelessly. The words tumbled from his lips without inflection, as if he were reading a dry text from a book. “Harry is alive. Dumbledore, there’s something you have to know. Black was not the Secret-Keeper.”

Dumbledore’s blue eyes shifted sharply. “He wasn’t?”

“No. I remember when I received the Secret that the handwriting didn’t look like how I remembered Black’s, and it was because it _wasn’t_ written by him. Lily and Black switched to Peter Pettigrew, and _he—”_

“Was the spy,” Dumbledore finished in a resigned murmur. “I see. And Mr. Black is here, I take it?”

Severus nodded.

“I will have to perform Legilimency on him to verify this, of course.”

Sirius did not object at all to being examined for veracity. At one point in the silent interrogation, Dumbledore drew back from him in surprise. “You rascals—”

“What?” Severus interjected.

“Mr. Black wished me to know that Pettigrew is an Animagus who can take the form of a rat, since that would obviously offer a means for him to easily escape Azkaban unless precautions are taken. The memory was linked to one of him—and James Potter—also transforming into animals.”

Sirius managed a faint smirk and shifted into a shaggy black dog. Severus’s eyes widened in surprise briefly, but then narrowed. It would figure. _That_ was how the wretches were able to run around with the werewolf. Scofflaws and bloody reckless Gryffindors—

_No._ Lily, dear Lily, had also been a Gryffindor, and she had just given her life to save her son and vanquish an evil Dark wizard—at least, if Dumbledore’s theory of what happened was correct.

“Mr. Black, you do realize that you _must_ register with the Ministry,” Dumbledore was saying. “Otherwise Pettigrew, when captured, will use the information to see _you_ into Azkaban as well—for spite if nothing else.”

Sirius shifted back to human form.  His face paled. “I didn’t even think of that,” he said hoarsely. “You’re right. Crouch—you know how he is—but handing in a Death Eater, the one who betrayed his friends and spied on the Order, in exchange for not being prosecuted as an unregistered Animagus—I think he would take that deal. Otherwise….”

“I can deal with Barty,” Dumbledore said. “You won’t be going to Azkaban—as long as you come clean to the Ministry about your skill. What is important is that we _find_ Pettigrew. If he can change into a rat, he could have a very good disguise. Voldemort is gone for now, but he will be back, and Pettigrew might feel that he has no other options than to go _looking_ for him.”

Severus finally spoke. “What makes you think he’s coming back?” he asked, the scratchiness of his voice surprising him. “According to your theory, when Lily—died”—he nearly choked on his words, as the grief was finally starting to overcome him—“she gave Harry protection against him, and his second Killing Curse backfired on _him._ How could he come back?”

Dumbledore looked very grave. “I have reason to believe that Voldemort took measures to prevent himself from experiencing permanent death.”

Both younger wizards seemed to have the same realization at once. “You mean he made a Hor—” Sirius began to say.

_“Not here!”_ Dumbledore said sharply. “But yes. I do. And there is something else,” he said in an even grimmer tone. “Severus, may I ask you to touch young Harry’s scar?”

Severus was glad to be distracted, however briefly, from the grief that was welling up in him. He walked over to the crib where Harry was now placed, bent over, and placed the tip of his index finger on the ugly red mark.

It was as if poison were shooting through his arm. The Dark Mark, which had vanished this evening, faintly reappeared for a moment. He jerked his hand back and it disappeared once more, but the tingling of pain nerves remained. He clutched his arm and gaped at Dumbledore in horror. The old man’s blue eyes gazed back at him, utterly devoid of anything resembling twinkling. The situation did not need further explanation. It was perfectly obvious to Severus why this had happened. Doing that to one’s soul made it unstable and fragile, and when the Dark Lord had attempted to kill Harry, somehow a part of him had become lodged in the curse scar. It was a truly loathsome thing.

“Will he—be all right?” Severus asked brokenly. “I mean, with _that_ in him—”

Dumbledore looked concerned. “I hope so. I believe that Lily’s sacrifice will protect him from being possessed by it, but there are measures that must be taken to augment the effect of her magic.”

“Oh?”

“Yes.” He sighed. “I know that neither of you is going to like this, but I am afraid that Harry must be placed with his Muggle relatives—Lily’s sister and her family. That way, he will continue to receive his mother’s protection until he comes of age.”

Severus was already on his feet. “You can’t do that! You didn’t meet Petunia Evans, Dumbledore—she’s a wretched Muggle, the worst sort, she _hates_ magic—”

“I am Harry’s godfather!” Sirius exclaimed.

“And I’m his _stepfather!”_

Dumbledore put up his hand. “And I have no intention of preventing either of you from exercising your rights to visit the boy. But this must be done. Harry will only be protected if he lives with the blood kin of his mother. I have, indeed, some familiarity with Petunia, and I think she will be far less inclined to abuse her power if she _is_ visited by wizards occasionally who have an interest in Harry. But Severus, you especially must be careful not to be seen. When Voldemort returns—”

“They’re _Muggles,”_ he spat derisively. “If I have to, I can arrange it so they don’t even remember I’ve been there.”

Dumbledore frowned at him for a moment before sighing in resignation. “Very well. Severus, Sirius—there will be time to grieve, time in plenty, but for now we have a lot of work to do.”

**Author's Note:**

> The Fidelius Charm here worked the same way that it did in OotP, with a note written by the Secret-Keeper being passed to everyone who was to know the secret, but not necessarily personally by the Secret-Keeper. Moody handed Albus’s note to Harry, after all. That is how Severus could be among the people who knew the location without Pettigrew knowing of his marriage (and passing the information to Voldemort).
> 
> I know it’s not stated in canon, but I’m pretty sure Sirius and Severus would have known of the existence of Horcruxes. Maybe not that Voldemort had any, but I think they would have been exposed to the concept. Regulus Black knew all about it at age seventeen, and he didn’t learn that at Hogwarts. Who knows what kinds of stories the Blacks told their children? Probably not just anything as benign as Beedle the Bard. And Severus is a master of the Dark Arts. It is extremely difficult for me to believe that he wouldn’t have come across the idea before.
> 
> Despite being sad and poignant, this AU scenario obviously works out much better for Harry and Sirius, and arguably for Snape as well, since he did actually experience Lily’s love before her death.
> 
> Severus resigned as Potions instructor just before Harry’s first year, citing the impropriety of being a teacher with an existing close familial relationship to a student. Dumbledore successfully argued that Severus had to appear to require his continued protection, as a claim to make in favor of his supposed “loyalty” to Voldemort when Voldemort returned, so he stayed at the castle as Professor Emeritus. He didn’t have to deal with incompetent dunderheads.
> 
> I don’t think they caught Pettigrew in this AU. When he learned that he was a wanted man, he transformed into a rat and fled, perhaps even to the Weasleys’ home, until years later when he received word that Voldemort had gone to the Albanian forest.
> 
> The Dursleys did not dare to subject Harry to starvation and abuse after the first couple of visits from Sirius and Severus. He knew a great deal about the wizarding world by the time he turned eleven, including the prophecy. He proved to be better at Occlumency since he started learning it from Severus earlier, and under better circumstances. Voldemort could not lure him into the Ministry with false visions of Sirius being tortured. And since he had a reason to live, Severus did not give up so easily. Yes--they both survived in this AU.


End file.
